There has been much criticism and scrutiny of the agency and questions asked about what policy changes are needed to close the gaps that vulnerable children still seem to slip through.

Child Development Minister Jennifer Rankine has been at pains to remind the community of the difficult job her staff do and the “gut wrenching” betrayal they feel at allegations that those in their ranks are letting the profession down.

The Government has pledged to fast track the hiring of 180 qualified carers but the public sector union warns deteriorating conditions and public criticism of Families SA could put applicants off, exacerbating staff shortages.

Families SA management argues there are plenty of applicants for vacancies but the pool is whittled down to those with the right skills.

Social and youth workers who have contacted The Advertiser paint a picture of a workforce that joined the department to make a difference but many are now demoralised and overworked.

Ms Rankine says every day these workers are saving children’s lives — and they no doubt are — but it can be hard to remember that when things go wrong.

“The morale is very, very low,” David says.

“It’s a very fruitless job in some ways.

“It can be dangerous and abusive.

“No family rings up and says ‘I’ve just abused my child, come and take them away from me’.

“A lot of it is issues the parents have with drugs, alcohol or mental health.

“Quite often they’re desperate to work to get their kids back and they do change.”

During his time doing investigation work for Families SA, David says he was aware of cases where parents committed suicide after having their children taken away, children died while in the care of their parents, and at least one child took their own life.

David describes entering homes “that should actually be bulldozed”, with rubbish piled in unused rooms, wet mattresses where whole families slept, overflowing toilets, dogs living inside and even “rats in the fridge”.

He also encountered children “beaten black and blue” and parents who ran off with their children to avoid having them taken away.

“We see kids who have been hit by pieces of wood, with black eyes and broken noses — some are just babies,” David says.

“You’d go into houses where you couldn’t walk on the floor.

“Parents who have gone to play the pokies and left children locked in the bedroom.”

David says, unfortunately, many child protection workers become somewhat desensitised to the shocking things they see and it becomes “not something that shocks you anymore”.

“After you’ve been doing it for some time you tend to accept it’s happened and want to move on quickly to get the child out of there,” he said.

“Some people are really seriously affected by the things that we see.

“There have been some absolutely shocking things that I’ve come across.”

Making decisions about where to direct resources is difficult, David says, adding people in positions of power don’t always have recent experience “at the coal face”.

“It does wear on them,” he says.

David says the department is good at offering professional counselling to staff, but sometimes it can be more effective to talk to a colleague who “knows what you’re going through”.

There are bright spots though — reminding the workforce why they chose this career.

David says many children “thrive” despite their tough start in life.

He remembers one child with a learning difficulty who rang to tell him he had taken part in team sport for the first time.

“Every now and then we get a little painting or drawing or a card from a kid,” he says.

“You can watch a child change and grow and their relationships develop — watch them live the life that they should be able to live.”

* Not his real name

Fed-up foster carers blame lack of support

By Sheradyn Holderhead

FOSTER carers have told a senior Families SA bureaucrat that they face “judgment, criticism” and are “not believed” while facing abuse from the children they parent.

“The language of a traumatised, damaged child is violence, anger, withdrawal. They don’t use words and it seems to be the department says once they have used words we (Families SA) will acknowledge they (the children) have been traumatised but that can take 10 years.”